Favorites: Part TwelveGreg Galant

December 21st 2007

To celebrate the holidays we asked some of our favorite people in publishing what their favorite book was. Let us know in the comments what your favorite book is and be sure to check back throughout the week for more “favorites”.

The Power Broker by Robert Caro is my favorite book, even if weighted on a per page basis. This 1,336 page biography of Robert Moses is an insightful portrayal of power and New York. Caro contends that Moses was the most powerful non-elected official in American history who built modern day New York – for better or worse. In the first 200 pages, Caro profiles a young Moses who as an idealistic reformer is badly beaten by corrupt elements of the government. Those 200 pages could be a book (and a life) in itself had it not been for Moses getting a second chance at power. Uninhibited by idealism, Moses built Jones Beach, the Triboro Bridge, many parkways and countless other projects to the detriment of neighborhoods in the way. With the benefit of seven years of research, Caro explains the ethically unsettling levers of power that Moses understood and used like no other. Despite being written in 1974, the ideas in the book are still hotly debated.